Amiina – Kurr

Release date: 19-06-2007, Label: Ever records
By: Elvira Visser

  Amiina is an all girl sting-quartet from Iceland. All four have classical backgrounds
  but like to experiment with not only their sting instruments. When you listen
  to the songs on this album you hear very weird instruments like singing saws,
  clarinet, trombone, trumpet and a tuba. Also you hear key instruments like a
  piano, synthesizer and a harmonium. These together with a carillon, xylophone,
  a mandolin and even some wine glasses makes it very special to listen to.

  Their music can be described as a journey through a fairytale world with endless
  paths of nostalgic and melancholy.

  After an EP in 2004 called “AnimanimA”, touring around the world
  and a world tour with Sigur Ros (an Icelandic musician), it was time for a new
  album called “Kurr”, named after the sound that birds are said to
  make in Iceland.

  The first song “Sogg” on the album brings you immediately to this
  safe and relaxed world. It creates something special with melancholic piano
  tunes and little bells.
  The second song starts with guitars and still sounds like melancholic relaxing
  music, it continues and I wonder if they ever start singing or if this is just
  a relaxing CD, but after some weird sounds of wineglasses and singing saws they
  start singing together. Their voices fit perfectly together (changed the wordorder
  here) and makes the songs a bit more energetic. They do not sing in words but
  it is very melodious.
  “Glamúr” has some deep and dark cello in it, which to me fits
  perfectly and makes you wonder “This was a string band right”?
  It seemed that they left their violas and cello for a spine of the songs and
  experimented with instrument we would not think of.

  These special instruments bring you different sounds, unusual in the pop music
  today.
  In the song “lori” is seem to hear a harpsichord but soon the drums
  seem to take over, balanced with a beautiful melody.
  “Bláfeldur” starts as a surprise, maybe one of the less surprising
  moments on the CD, together with “Lori”. This song has trumpets and
  a tuba that lead you the way. The drums and these trumpets might take you a
  little our of the fairy/dream world and place you more in a medieval world with
  castles, and armies marching.
  I really like these 2 songs as they are a bit different then the others but
  they still fit perfectly in the total flow of the album.
  “Boga” starts slowly and get you back into the melancholic dream world
  and is a good end to this cd, but maybe the length should be bit shorter, this
  7:39 is quite long. Maybe they could have made 2 songs out of this.

  The mood from the first songs till the end seems to stick together. You can
  hear kind of bell/carillon sounds. It reminds me of those old little music boxes
  which you can open and a little ballerina start to dance or those little music
  boxes that makes you fall asleep as a kid.

  This album might get boring after a while, but if you like to escape reality
  and end up in a dreamy world with beautiful melancholic music this is it. So
  as I said many people will judge this as boring music, but I think it is a perfect
  melancholic record without lyrics and really a piece of art work from these
  4 Icelandic ladies.